(a) Subject to state-wide policy and guidelines established by the Board of Regents for Higher Education, said board of trustees shall administer the regional community-technical colleges and plan for the expansion and development of the institutions within its jurisdiction. The Commissioner of Administrative Services on request of the board of trustees shall, in accordance with § 4b-30, negotiate and execute leases on such physical facilities as the board of trustees may deem necessary for proper operation of such institutions, and said board of trustees may expend capital funds therefor, if such leasing is required during the planning and construction phases of institutions within its jurisdiction for which such capital funds were authorized. The board of trustees may appoint and remove the chief executive officer of each institution within its jurisdiction. The board of trustees may employ the faculty and other personnel needed to operate and maintain the institutions within its jurisdiction. Within the limitation of appropriations, the board of trustees shall fix the compensation of such personnel, establish terms and conditions of employment and prescribe their duties and qualifications. Said board of trustees shall determine who constitutes its professional staff and establish compensation and classification schedules for its professional staff. Said board shall annually submit to the Commissioner of Administrative Services a list of the positions which it has included within the professional staff. The board shall establish a division of technical and technological education. The board of trustees shall confer such certificates and degrees as are appropriate to the curricula of community-technical colleges. The board of trustees shall prepare plans for the development of a regional community-technical college and submit the same to the Commissioner of Administrative Services and request said commissioner to select the site for such college. Within the limits of the bonding authority therefor, the Commissioner of Administrative Services, subject to the provisions of § 4b-23, may acquire such site and construct such buildings as are consistent with the plan of development.

(b) Subject to state-wide policy and guidelines established by the Board of Regents for Higher Education, the board of trustees shall:

(1) Make rules for the governance of the regional community-technical colleges, determine the general policies of said colleges, including those concerning the admission of students, and direct the expenditure of said colleges’ funds within the amounts available;

(2) Develop mission statements for the regional community-technical colleges: The mission statement for the regional community-technical colleges shall include, but need not be limited to the following elements: (A) The educational needs of and constituencies served by said colleges; (B) the degrees offered by said colleges, and (C) the role and scope of each institution within the community-technical college system, which shall include each institution’s particular strengths and specialties;

(3) Establish policies for the regional community-technical colleges;

(4) Establish policies which protect academic freedom and the content of courses and degree programs;

(5) Establish new academic programs;

(6) Make institutional mergers or closures;

(7) Coordinate the programs and services of the institutions under its jurisdiction;

(8) Promote fund-raising by the institutions under its jurisdiction in order to assist such institutions, provided the board shall not directly engage in fund-raising except for purposes of providing funding for (A) scholarships or other direct student financial aid and (B) programs, services or activities at one or more of the institutions within its jurisdiction and report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education by January 1, 1994, and biennially thereafter, on all such fund-raising; and

(9) Charge the direct costs for a building project under its jurisdiction to the bond fund account for such project; provided, (A) such costs are charged in accordance with a procedure approved by the Treasurer and (B) nothing in this subdivision shall permit the charging of working capital costs, as defined in the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, or costs originally paid from sources other than the bond fund account.

(c) The board of trustees may request authority from the Treasurer to issue payment for claims against said colleges, other than a payment for payroll, debt service payable on state bonds to bondholders, paying agents, or trustees, or any payment the source of which includes the proceeds of a state bond issue.